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by GoPride.com News Staff

Chicago, IL — NAMES Project Creator Cleve Jones will deliver the keynote at the Legacy Project celebratory Kick-Off Gala Luncheon to initiate the one-year campaign to bring The Legacy Walk to Halsted Street in Chicago's Boystown neighborhood. 

"It is extremely humbling to have Cleve come to Chicago to talk about The Legacy Walk," said Victor Salvo, The Legacy Project's creator and Executive Director. "He has been a remarkable source of inspiration for me."

Jones has since become a good friend and advisor to Salvo, helping to guide the development of The Legacy Project.

"I jumped at the chance to speak at the luncheon when Victor contacted me," said Jones. "We have been talking about The Legacy Walk for years and I am so impressed by the work that has been done and how it is all coming together."

The luncheon will take place in the Empire Room of the Palmer House Hotel on Oct. 25 from Noon to 1:30 p.m. The luncheon program will be preceded by a VIP Reception with a preview of the organization's 42-piece display and tribute to those who will be inducted onto The Legacy Walk in 2012. 

Though the list of Inductees has not officially been announced, nominees from the group's website include people as diverse as social justice pioneer Jane Addams; Bayard Rustin, Dr. Martin Luther King's speechwriter; Mexican artist Frida Kahlo; and British mathematician Alan Turing, the "Father of Computer Science" who broke the Nazi's "Enigma Code" to defeat Adolph Hitler.

According to Salvo, The Legacy Walk has been endorsed by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and dozens of community activists and business leaders.

"We are delighted to have their support" said Salvo. "It means the world to us to know all of these people recognize the importance of remembering and honoring the contributions GLBT people have made."

The Legacy Walk will feature thirty-six bronze memorial plaques affixed to the ‘Rainbow Pylons,' which designate Boystown as the nexus of the local LGBT community. The memorial plaque will bear the likeness of an Inductee along with a 300-word paragraph describing their life and accomplishments.

The project will be dedicated on October 11, 2012 – National Coming Out Day. 

Tickets for the luncheon can be purchased for $125, VIP $250 online at legacyprojectchicago.org. 

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